Washoe County School District

Violin Unit How-To

for Teachers
Presented by
Danielle Cates &
David Navarette

Taking Instrument
Out of the Case
Always hold instrument securely, entire
hand closed around the neck
Have a policy for your classroom
-Leave cases open when the violin is out
or close and lock case after getting
violin out
-Do not leave cases closed that are not
locked (by latches or a zipper)
-When you put away violin, lock the
latches as soon as you close the
case
-All this is to avoid forgetting to lock it,
standing up, and having the
instrument fall out onto the floor

Taking out the bow

-Unlock first
-Slide out (do not pull up!)
-Putting the bow away
-Tip first
-Lock in place

Parts of the Violin

Important parts to cover:
-Bridge (dont touch!)
-End Button
-Neck
-Scroll
-Shoulder (Upper Bout)
-Sound Hole / Forte
Hole / F Hole
-Pegs (dont touch!)
-Fine Tuners/Tailpiece
-Strings
-Fingerboard
-Chinrest/Jawrest

Violin Postures
Guitar Position
Things to watch for:

Playing Position
Posture Set-up Every Time

-Bridge is visible (not getting

bumped by hand or arm)

-Alligator bites the shoulder/sandwich

-Plucking over the fingerboard

-Violin in your ear

-Fingers standing up
>Finger tips pinch the string
>Middle of the finger on the
tape
-Thumb pad on back of neck
>slide back until you touch
the scroll

-Violin on your head

-Slide straight down
-Grab with the side of your jaw
>Note: chin does NOT touch the
chinrest
-Right thumb on the SIDE of the
fingerboard
-Wrist straight (Dragon Story)
-Follow posture instructions from guitar
position

Posture Pictures

Pizzicato

Fingerboard

Thumb on side of
fingerboard. Dont
pluck where you bow

Fingers should stand

up for best tone
(keep knuckles high)

Wrist
Keep it straight, try
not to let hand touch
the violin only thumb
and fingers may touch

Parts of the Bow

Important Parts to Cover
-Frog
-Screw (Tension Screw)
-Tip
-Grip (Winding)
-Stick
-Horsehair (dont touch!)
-Ferrule (clip)

Bow Care
Taking the bow out of
the case
1. Look at the bow

Tightening and Loosening

Righty Tighty - Lefty Loosey

(put it back the same way)

2. Unlock
3. Pick up the frog 1 inch only
4. Slide the bow out of the case
until you can see the entire bow
5. Bow on your head (quiet sign)

Rosining
Rosin bow every time you play. You
should see the rosin on the hairs.
Scrub, scrub, scrub

Bow is loose when in the case

(hairs should be nearly touching the middle of the
stick)

Bow is tight when out of the case

-Hairs are about one pinky width away from the
middle of the stick
-Tighten BEFORE rosining too!

Only takes about 3-4 turns to tighten or

loosen the bow
-If a finger other than the pinky can fit between
the hairs and middle of the stick, youve
gone TOO FAR.

Loosen Your Bow Whenever You Go!

Bow Hold
Beginner Bow Hold
Turkey Sandwich Style

1. Tip of the thumb on the

clip/ferrule
2. Middle knuckles across the
stick
3. Little space between each
finger
Poke space! Check good hand posture by
poking between each finger.

4. Keep fingers straight, for now

Fingers will relax as they get used to the
bow hold and build those hand muscles

Bow Exercises
Without the Violin
Lizard Crawl
-Crawl down and up the bow using only fingers
-Builds muscle, helps students familiarize with
the weight of the bow

With the Violin

On the string

-Encourage students to use middle to upper half of

bow (helps relax their shoulder and elbow)
-Discourage playing at the frog (can stiffen the arm)
-Keep right shoulder and elbow low and relaxed
-Adjust arm height for various strings (escalator)

Teeter-Totters
-Tilt bow across strings by raising/lowering the arm

Bow Charades
-Copy Teacher (hat, dolphin, beard, rocket)
-Surprise bow hold checks; goal is to keep
your bow hold the whole time

Bowing on the shoulder

-Use this for Elbow Swing practice
-Open like a door use left index finger on
inside elbow to check for swinging motion.
-Rhythm exercises
-Bow upside down (wood side)

Bow under violin

-Can put fingers on the string and bow in the crook
of their left elbow (upside down wood on elbow))

Bow in the air

-Can put fingers on the string
-Good to check correct bow direction

Col Legno Bowing

-Hold bow upside down (hairs face the ceiling)
-Tap strings (gently!) with the upper half of the bow
stick
-Do not bow with the wood, just tap up and down
for

Care/Maintenance/Tuning
Caring for the Violins

Keep out of extreme heat or cold

Do not set them down on their bridge

If its not in your hand, its in the case!

Store sponges on top of the violin, so it

blocks the bow from falling on violin
when case in closed.

Always clean rosin off violins after use

do not let it sit on there!
Body of violin
Strings
Under fingerboard
Do NOT clean bow hair

Tuning
Teachers should use fine tuners whenever
possible
-If they get turned too far to the right, they can
damage the top of the violin. Keep an eye out! If
this happens, loosen them and use the peg.
-Righty-Tighty to raise the pitch
-Lefty-Loosey to lower the pitch

If you are comfortable using the peg, only do so if

fine tuners are not sufficient
-School strings teacher should handle string
replacements

Pluck/bow string constantly if you are using peg

-Better to hear the string so you dont over-tighten
-If you are using the wrong peg youll know it!

Slowly loosen each peg before tightening it, push

in slowly as you turn it away from you to tighten.
Dont over-tighten or turn too quickly, this will
break the string!

Classroom
Management
Bow on the head for quiet sign
Copy teachers bow / charades to get their attention
Students in rest position when not playing
-like guitar position, left hand on the violin shoulder, right hand cradles the
baby
-If they do this correctly, nothing will be touching the strings (no plucking
sounds!)

Always start beginners sitting on the floor.

-They may stand as they become more comfortable holding their violins securely.

Need help during

your Violin Unit?
Ask your strings teacher or contact:
Danielle Cates dacates@washoeschools.net
David Navarette dnavarette@washoeschools.net

Good, low-cost websites to suggest to

students who want to play violin

www.sharmusic.com
www.swstrings.com